So under my oil filter I find this. Here is the big question though. Is the feed to the filter from the center where the filter screws on, or does it feed from the outside in? Because it was in the outside part of the pedistol. I don't know if it dropped in or if the oil ring in the front cover squeesed out. The stock oil pressure gauge shows 5psi at 900 idle 45 at cruise and just over 60 at throttle. Its a s5 engine so it had the teflon ring around the rubber one, so I must assume it fell under the filter last oil change. GAWD I hope so... There weren't any copper shavings in the oil so it should be okay, right...

 

oil flows up the center of the filter. pic is too blurry to actually tell what that is. the only way it could get there is for it to have fell there when installing the filter. that would not have come from the pan. the screen on the pickup tube wouldn't allow it. if it did fall from the filter during installation, start checking filters from now on, and maybe use a different brand.

 

Feed is from the outside in. Remove your front cover and replace that oring ASAP. Good catch.

 

i don't know though it almost seems to be too big to be the oil ring. here's another pic. and oil pressure seems okay i mean it's low, but that's the stock gauge I'm going by here. I seem to remember the oil ring to be smaller.


Pix curtosey of mazdatrix FAQ

 

If it was outside of the part where your filter threads on, there really isnt any way of something so big getting to that point is there?
Looks too big to fit through the holes in the oil filter, and as well too big to fig through the oil passages on the filter block. I personally think it must have been dropped in there when you changed your oil last.
Is there any way something that size would go anywhere from where it was?

 

could it have traveled from the front cover to the oil filter i hope not. Also there was no copper in the oil and I would expect that if there was low oil pressure.
http://www.mazdatrix.com/faq/oring.htm
**** I don't know if I should drive it anymore...

 

For the o-ring to get to the filter, assuming it is the one from the front cover, it had to go through the fmoc 1st. On the filter mount, the lower/outboard tube is the supply to the filter. The cente part of the filter is the return to the engine.

If the main bearings are going, you will see silver 1st, by the time you see copper, wear is already into the 2nd layer of the babbet.

Pull up the oiling diagram in Sec.2, p. 2 of the 87 FSM.

 

Is the the O'ring that you found soft or hard? If it is hard then it probably couldn't have traveled though the oil cooler or from the little pressure dohicky in the cooler.

 

Yeeeaaa I don't have a FSM. LOL it's a soft seal. I don't see how it would make it through the oil cooler. Fawk up above 4k pressure is well over 60 pi according to the stock gauge. I sure hope it just fell in...

 

That o-ring is located in a high pressure area of the oil gallery, those o-rings blow out, not in. And it looks too big anyway.

 

Scariest thing found when I did an oil change:

When I got my old 1985 Civic 4wd wagon from the previous owner (My mother.) I changed the oil.

The old oil came out like black applesauce, thick, nasty, and chunky.

I put 5 quarts of fresh oil in and drove it around the block, checked the dipstick and it was like used oil all over again.

I now have a recepie for cleaning engines. 1/2 quart of ATF, 1/2 quart of paint thinner... Shake well, add to oil. Idle for a few minutes, drain oil.

I've only seen cleaner rocker arms on a new vehicle.

 

scary find.